Moonlight
by Aleka446
Summary: Amaranth. Orochimaru's little servant. She brings attitude, but has a soft spot for a man. Two of them, actually. For Cetacea-of-Time. SaixOCxItachi, NaruHina off to the side. R
1. A Meeting

Moonlight

Chapter one

This is a request from Cetacea-of-Time. I put both of them together.

Again, this is a request. I'm a NaruSaku fan (don't comment on that) and she wanted NaruHina.

SO THAT'S WHAT I GIVE.

Tee-hee.

On to the STORAH.

~A Meeting~

"They're getting away!"

The girl stopped, gasping for air. 'Orochimaru-sama... forgive me,' she thought, pushing some of her waist-length dark green hair out of her face and tying it up. Then she started off again, desperately hopping from branch to branch. She had no idea why her master had sent her with Kabuto. He hated her and had left as soon as they had stolen the scroll.

She cried out as a kunai dug into her knee and fell, hitting the ground below. As the black-eyed girl tried to force herself up, her leg went weak. "Well, well," said a familiar voice. Teeth gritted in pain, she looked up. Kabuto stood there, smirking. "Can't take a simple leg wound. Tsk, tsk."

"You son of a bitch!"

He chuckled and took the scroll from her back. "Thanks for getting this, Amaranth. Really. This is very good, especially coming from you. Now," he said, taking a shuriken, "to get rid of you." She opened her mouth and shouted, "DAMN YOU!" before he threw it into her back and disappeared. Amaranth tried to get up again, but se was already losing consciousness.

The last thing she heard was, "There she is!" before she collapsed.

. . .

When Amaranth opened her eyes, the first thing she noticed was that she was no longer in the forest. She was in a cell, her upper body and her leg bandaged. "Where am I?" she muttered. "In a prison cell in Konoha," was the surprising reply.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Kisame, from the Akatsuki. And you?"

"Amaranth."

"From?" She could hear the smirk. "Shut up! I'm not telling you anything!" she hissed. A low chuckle came from him. "I'm just another prisoner, but not for long." Amaranth glared at him through the darkness. "Goody."

Another voice called, "I need the girl." She stood up and went to the bars of the cage, seeing a boy with the same eye color as her. His eyes were cold and emotionless. "Come along." she was taken out of the cage and down the hall. Feeling no fear (yet), she asked, "What's your name?"

"Sai."

His reply was short, curt, and to the point. "Well, congrats," she grumbled, wincing as she realized that she reeked. She kept her mouth shut, glaring instead at his shirt. 'Why does his shirt look like it's been mauled by a pair of scissors?'

"I've brought the girl, Tsunade-sama," said Sai before turning and leaving.

She shivered as the blond regarded her coldly. "Who are you affiliated with?" she asked. "No one. I'm a rogue shinobi," she replied, refusing to sell her master out. "We heard you talking to someone. The scroll was also highly sought after by none other than Orochimaru. I will ask once more- who are you affiliated with?"

Amaranth was about to refuse it when there was a shout of, "Tsunade-sama! Akatsuki!" A curse came from her and she opened the door before running out. Amaranth simply looked out the window and saw a black-hair man in a black cape with red clouds running from the Konoha shinobi. He looked back at her and she gasped as she realized he had the Sharingan.

Amaranth sat down, holding a hand to her chest as Sai burst into the room. His look changed as tears streamed down her face. "What's wrong?" he asked. Instead of answering, she stood up and looked at him, shaking her head. "Can't I just... go back to my cell?" He blinked then, in surprise. "Alright. Come on."

She kept her head bowed as he led her back to the prison cage. Silence surrounded them as she sat down and he closed the bars. "I forgot to ask... What's your name?"

"Amaranth."

"I see. I'll have to work on finding a nickname for you."

. . .

Here's the first chapter, Cetacea! Hope you like!

Review or feel Sai's clueless wrath!

Sai: Huh?

See? Clueless.


	2. Amaranth's Memories

Moonlight

Chapter two

I feel happy today!

Thanks Cetacea! You're awesome! ^^

I'll have a cover soon, hopefully...

'Kay, hope you enjoy!

~Amaranth's Memories~

"How about... Moss Head?"

Amaranth grabbed her green locks. "Boy, do you have a death wish?" Sai blinked in surprise. "N-No, I don't think so..." She glared at him. "Then knock it off with the nicknames."

She had known this boy for what... twenty-four hours?... and he was already annoying her. It didn't help that he was drop-dead gorgeous. Crossing her arms, Amaranth glared at him with her onyx eyes, eyelid twitching. "Here. I brought you your food," he told her, holding out some ramen. She hesitantly took it and glared at its contents.

"It's not poisoned."

Her eyes snapped back to his. "I can understand your hesitation. I wouldn't take food from an enemy either." Amaranth raised an eyebrow before taking the chopsticks and sticking a noodle in her mouth. After that, she gobbled the rest of it down as fast as she could. It was delicious; much better than anything she'd ever eaten in her while life.

"More," Amaranth told him when she had wiped her mouth on the sleeve of her tan kimono. "I'm afraid that's all I've brought. It wasn't enough?" he asked her. She hesitated. "I feel full, but want more." Sai eyed her stomach and realized he couldn't make a crack about her being too fat already; she was skin and bones.

"Still, I can't bring more. It took my awhile to get that in here."

Amaranth blinked. "Why would you go through all that just to get me some edible food?" Sai replied, "You intrigue me. Pique my interest." Her gaze turned mistrustful and he said, "I'm working on becoming friends with people. I only met you yesterday, but you seem to want friends." Kabuto's face flashed across her mind.

"No, I don't."

The words came out colder than she meant them to. "I mean, I don't think we'd get along..." She crawled forward until she could put her face between the bars. Sai have her a fake smile. "I'm quite certain they would." She asked suddenly, "What do you know about Uchiha Itachi?"

Sai blinked and felt suspicion at the questions. "Why would you want to know?" She shrugged innocently. "Just curious." He was about to say something when there was a call of, "Sai!" She saw a silver-haired man, followed by a blond man with his hair in a ponytail. "Kakashi-sensei," he said, standing up. "We need to take her. Could you leave?"

"Of course."

He turned back and gave her a fake smile of farewell. She gulped as the man looked at her. "Sharingan Kakashi," she muttered. "What would the copy-nin want with me?" He opened the cage and smiled again. "I don't want anything with you. I believe you are a servant of Orochimaru?" She hissed, clenching her fist as they took her out of the prison.

. . .

"Inoichi, now."

The Yamanaka nodded and placed his hand on Amaranth's forehead. In a moment, he was digging through her memories. "Let's see what intel you've got on Orochimaru," he mumbled.

_A little girl sat in a field of flowers. "Amaranth!" shouted someone. She looked up and laughed as an older boy picked her up and set her on his shoulders. "Oniisan*," she said, "where's Orochimaru-sama?" He looked at her with warm brown eyes. His soft green hair tickled her face and she giggled. "Orochimaru-sama is busy right now. Let's go find something to play with."_

Inoichi moved on to another memory.

_"Oniisan!"_

_The same girl, this time older, was picked up by her brother and he took her into a room. They could hear the cries of a person and shadows passed under the door. "Oniisan... What's happened?" she asked. He shushed her. They stayed in there until a hiss came from under the door. Her brother cried out, gripping his shoulder. "Oniisan!" she cried._

_"Amaranth, stay here. I'm going to fight," he told her. She whimpered as he headed towards the door. "You must keep very quiet or the bad people will find you." She was about to say something, but he had already left. As her brother had asked, she kept quiet and still, watching with terror as more shadows passed through the door._

_When it finally opened, the fear froze in her veins. Orochimaru himself stood there. "Wh-Where's Oniisan?" she asked, eyes wide and tear-filled. "I'm right here, Amaranth," he said quietly, entering the room. He picked her up and Orochimaru said, "Do the jutsu."_

Inoichi was suddenly forced out of the memory. "What-" he said as the black fog charged him again-

He removed his hand from her forehead and fell backwards, gasping. "What was it?" Kakashi asked, surprised he had slammed back so suddenly. "It was... Her brother..."

. . .

*Oniisan- older brother.

Whew, that was fun to write! I'm definitely enjoying writing this! ^_^

Review!


	3. Crescent Moon

Moonlight

Chapter three

Oh my gosh my sister freaked out on me! She's autistic and wants some of my spaghetti, but I won't give it to her. She's already had hers! -.-'

So yeah. I can't leave my seat, so here I am, writing to you.

~Crescent Moon~

"Are you sure?"

"Do you think I would joke?"

Amaranth raised an eyebrow before asking, "Why're you taking me?" Sai shrugged his shoulders and replied, "I seem to have been chosen as your patrol officer." She giggled and asked, "Chosen. No doubt you got down on your knees and begged." She interlaced her fingers, stuck her bottom lip out, and cried, "Oh please, O Might Hokage, she's just too awesome and pretty for me to stay away!"

"... I don't think you're pretty."

"There has to be a reason you keep coming back and staring at me."

He scratched the back of the head and unlocked the cage. "You're also allowed to go in the women's bath house." Amaranth giggled again. "I don't suppose you're to follow me in there." That actually made him blush and she laughed again. "We should really get going. You only get two hours before you go back into the cage." He led her to the women's bathhouse, where Ino stood there, ready to guard her. "You're Amaranth," she said after greeting them.

"And you must be a Yamakana. I met your father."

Ino's crystal blue eyes narrowed. "Yes. I've been told about you." Then she turned to Sai, a big smile brightening up her face. Amaranth scowled. This girl was very beautiful. "So, Sai, do you want to go out for dinner after this?" Amaranth tensed and yanked the blond's wrist. "I want to take my bath now, if you don't mind."

Ino blinked. "Um, okay. Maybe some other time," she added to Sai, who smiled a fake smile. "Of course." Then they disappeared into the bath house. "Go on and take a bath. I'm supposed to guard you, so don't try anything funny," Ino warned. "Wouldn't dream of it," Amaranth muttered as she stripped off her prison clothes.

After washing and brushing through her hair, covering her body with suds and rinsing, she got out. "Here. Forehead brought these in for you. Said Sai bought them," she said as she held out a tannish kimono. It wasn't silk; in fact, it looked rather cheap. Still, she put it on and Ino touched her hair. "I could fix this up for you. It'd be very nice," she said.

Amaranth pulled her hair out of the blond's grasp. "I usually put it up in a ponytail. It saves time," she explained as she pulled out a black ribbon and tied it up. "Oh, but it'd be so pretty-" Amaranth was already walking out there. Sai was waiting patiently. He turned to her, saying, "Let's go and get something to ea-"

He cut himself off suddenly, blinking as he gaped at her. "See? I'm even more pretty when I'm clean," she told him, twirling around. "And Sai, you're drooling." His hand instantly moved to his lips, only to feel they were dry. She let out a delighted giggle. "You're so funny. And you don't even try to be. That's the funny thing."

He led her to a restaurant and she took a deep breath and realized she smelled the same food he had brought her once. Instantly, her stomach grumbled, aching for the food. Sai noticed this, and said, "I need to run some errands." She gasped and snapped, "But I want some food now!"

He looked into a book and attempted a laugh. She knitted her eyebrows and he said, "It says in this book, if you react in a certain way, I'm supposed to laugh." Amaranth relaxed. "ROOT?" A single nod. "Sorry," she apologized. "You're not to blame. No one is," he said easily. She murmured, "It still doesn't make it right."

Sai looked at her before taking her hand and pulling her into the restaurant. "Perhaps not." She took the menu, but wasn't sure what to order. The girl who worked there, Ayame, leaned over. "I suggest something easier on your stomach. As I understand, you haven't had rich foods before." Amaranth replied, "I don't understand... How can foods be rich? They can't own anything."

Ayame gave a delighted laugh and Sai explained, "One that has fats. It usually tastes better." She blushed at her mistake. "Oh. Of course." ten minutes later, steaming hot bowls were set in front of them. "What do you usually eat?" Sai asked her, taking a pair of chopsticks.

"Um..." She thought for a moment. "Mush?" Sai said, "That's what I ate in ROOT, too. Only I wouldn't describe it as 'mush'. I would put it like tasteless gruel." She looked away. "I'm pretty sure Kabuto-san eats better than me. He's Orochimaru-sama's right-hand man, after all." Sai watched her for a moment. "Of course." They ate in silence until Sai checked the time. "We must get going if we want to meet your curfew," he said, paying and leading her out onto the street. "Sai, what happens if you're on a mission...?"

"I don't know. Maybe the Hokage will get someone else to take you."

She smiled and said, "I'd like that. But I'd like it if it was you more."

Their fingertips brushed as they walked through the night and she looked away, a light blush gracing her cheekbones. When they got back, Sai closed the prison cell door behind her. "Um, Sai? You'll come back tomorrow, right?"

He looked at her and smiled, a fake one. "Of course."

"See you tomorrow then. Good night."

"Good night."

After he left, Amaranth collapsed on the bed, the moonlight falling on her dark green hair. She glanced out and sighed. 'Only a crescent moon... I'll have to wait until it's half moon before I can leave. Too bad. I kinda like Sai.'

. . .

It took me forever to write the last paragraph 'cause my brother kept bugging me. Sorry DX

Yeah, so lemme know what you think! :)

AND I PROMISE I'll get to the ItachixOC and the NaruHina next chapter! DX


	4. The Escape

Moonlight

Chapter four

A little NaruHina and ItachixOC. I PROMISE.

This starts in the middle of the chapter and goes back to the beginning.

~The Escape~

The half-moon shown on the girl's long green hair. Two black orbs surveyed it and she walked forward, purposefully striding in a specific direction. "Orochimaru-sama, I'm coming home."

. . .

Amaranth had waited weeks for the half moon. It was her source of power; a time she viewed as evil. It was shown as half-light, half-dark. It gave people the illusion that there was plenty of light, but turned its back to show the dark side. If you asked her, it was a deceiving and fearful time.

She was escaping during this time.

Not that she wanted to leave everything. She didn't want to leave the ramen and the friendly faces and the warm weather. Even though she'd never admit it, Amaranth was going to miss Sai most of all. She had started thinking of him as a friend.

But now, as the guard locked her in, she didn't think about that. Sai didn't leave immediately and instead stayed. "I know you're planning to escape. I don't suggest it," Sai told her. "The guards will take you down. And if they won't, I will." She clenched her fists and replied, "Lay off."

His eyes met hers cooly. Then he stood up, inclined his head to the guard, and left. She waited for an hour, pretending to sleep before making hand signs. "Secret technique: Black Fog jutsu," she whispered. "What're you saying in there?" the guard snapped. He couldn't say anything else because the black fog had entered his lungs. She retracted the jutsu enough to let him live and made the fog rip out the bars of the cell.

Forcing all emotions and memories away, she walked down the hall. The fog billowed around her like a cape; anyone who tried to come near her would be caught by its toxins. 'Okay, first things first. My limit is fifteen minutes. I should be able to get out of here and make a run for it.' several other guards were killed by the fog before she was forced to a stop. Something slammed her against the wall and she realized it was a snake.

Sai stood here, scroll rolled out. "I knew you were going to try to escape. "Damn it," she hissed. "My ink creatures aren't affected by the poisons in the fog. But I must say, I didn't expect you to be able to pull off such a jutsu. I thought you were only good at taijutsu, since you didn't have a lot of chakra. Where is all of this power coming from?"

Sai was now talking more to himself than here, all while keeping her in place. 'He plans to keep me here until I run out of chakra,' she realized as she guided the fog in between her body and the snake. Once she was satisfied, she ruled the snake using her jutsu. "Wha-"

He was forced to try and draw another one as fast as he could. Amaranth tackled him, kicking the scroll away. He flipped her over and she tried to cry out as something dug into her back. That's when Sai almost inhaled some of the fog. As fast as she could, she released the jutsu. Sai's eyes widened. "Amaranth... You-"

She kicked him in the stomach and took off again, turning the corner without slipping. "Damn that boy," she hissed. The fog had disappeared, and so had her protection. Amaranth could've get killed him... Should've just killed him...

When she got out of the prison, ninja were running towards the gate. 'Of course. Sai already notified the Hokage,' she thought angrily before hearing the cries of, "Akatsuki!" Amaranth placed her back to the wall and turned to peek around the corner. They were still running, but seemed too distracted to notice her.

She did a different set of hand signs. "Transformation jutsu," she muttered, turning into Ino and hoping that the real one wasn't on a mission and didn't show up. Then she slipped around the corner and ran towards the front gate. Just as she was about to join the crowd, an angry voice snapped, "Ino!" She turned and muttered a curse as she saw Inoichi.

"I told you to stay home! How did you get here so fast?"

"Uhm..."

'Great, Amaranth, how're you going to get yourself out of this one?' she asked herself. There was a surprised yelp of, "Dad?" Amaranth cursed again as they turned to see the real Ino. Inoichi turned on her so quickly, she barely had time to react.

The kunai point grazed the bridge of her nose and she stumbled backwards into the crowd, shedding her disguise as she pushed through them. "Stop her! Stop her!" Inoichi was shouting. She kept running and thought, 'Oniisan, help me!'

Her brother seemed to be listening. The fog regrouped around her and the shinobi cried out and dodged it, much to her relief. She saw the two men in the Akatsuki cloaks as she jumped over them. Her eyes grazed the ones of Uchiha Itachi and she landed awkwardly, but kept going.

Amaranth collapsed against a tree a few minutes later, gasping for air. 'I made it... I'm free!' she shrieked to herself before standing up.

Lifting her eyes to meet the moon, she proclaimed, "Orochimaru-sama, I'm coming home." She started off again, finally ready to give Kabuto a piece of her mind. Amaranth didn't make it half a mile when someone said, "Well, it's you again."

"Kisame," she hissed as she turned. His giant sword seemed to breath as it rested on his back. "Hello. I seem to have forgotten your name; forgive me," he said, grinning. She didn't reply as he drew his sword. "I'm not going with you," she said. An arm snaked around her neck and she was caught in a dizzying genjutsu as she collapsed.

"Your intel on Orochimaru is going to be a big help," Itachi whispered as she lost consciousness.

. . .

Sai slammed upright, instantly regretting it. He remembered hitting the ground and a rock hitting his head, but nothing else. "Sai, you're awake," said Naruto. "What happened?" he groaned. "Well, you know that Amaranth girl? She escaped. Left you with plenty of injuries, too. I had to have Hinata come help me carry you up," Naruto told him, smiling across the bed at the Hyuuga sitting there.

She blushed. "I-It was nothing, N-Naruto-kun..." Sai really didn't want to be in the middle of this conversation. He wanted to be alone to select an emotion to feel for this news. But, as Narto started flirting with Hinata, he decided to feel nothing.

. . .

My first time writing Itachi and NaruHina! Sorry if it sucks :/

I don't think it did! Hope you liked it! :D

Review! Please?


	5. Before the Half Moon

Moonlight

Chapter five

Sorry to keep you waiting, I haven't been focusing on my fanfics...

On another note, I HAD to have Amaranth meet Tobi (the funny one). He's AWESOME. :D

~Before the Half Moon~

Amaranth groaned as she opened her eyes. "Oh, look! She's awake!" said a gleeful voice. She moved her gaze to see a boy with an Akatsuki cloak and an orange mask staring at her.

"Whoa... Who the hell are you?"

"I'm Tobi! Deidara-sempai told me to wait here and come get him when you woke up! Tobi follows orders, because Tobi is a good boy!" he told her gleefully. She couldn't help but smile; this kid was adorable!

"Well, Tobi. I'm Amaranth, and you know what would make me extra happy?" she said as a plan came to mind.

"What is it? Tobi must know, he likes Ama-chan!"

Amaranth put her hand to her forehead. "I'm just so thirsty! I really want some water, and I want to stretch my legs. So if you could just let me go, we could go have a picnic! How does that sound, Tobi?"

He seemed excited by the way he leapt up, but his expression was concealed. She wished she could catch a glimpse of his face, but knew there was no time for that. She had to escape, once again...

"TOBI!" yelled a voice. A man with blonde hair and bangs covering his left eye stalked in, a vein popping out of his forehead. "What did I tell you about coming and getting me when this thing wakes up?"

"To do so. But, sempai, she was super nice-"

"Kat-"

The man realized he wasn't supposed to blow up Amaranth, who seemed almost relieved. "Come out of there, un," he grumbled. "And you dare try to run away, I swear I'll blow us all up, un!"

"Wouldn't want that, un," muttered Amaranth snappishly as she headed out of the cave. She was led upstairs, Tobi following them and looking down. She hated the feeling of being restrained.

'Okay, just wait until the half moon. I want to wait until the half moon for my escape.'

She relaxed and Deidara thought, 'She's planning something, un.' They continued up until coming into a room with a singer chair. The man sitting in it opened his eyes, Sharingan already activated.

"Uchiha Itachi," Amaranth breathed, feeling nervous instantly. Trying to ignore the wave of butterflies rolling in her stomach, she straightened up and glared at him.

"Deidara. You may leave," he said simply.

"Don't tell me what to do, un!" the blond yelled back before turning and walking off, agitatedly growling something about, "That damn Uchiha, un!"

She sat down on the floor, never letting her eyes waver. They sat in silence, studying each other. Then Amaranth snapped.

"You... You rejected my master!"

"Orochimaru."

"Damn you! He had to go through so much to get the Sharingan! And you're just... Just... UGH! I'll kill you myself!"

Then she proceeded to charge him. Of course, Itachi was too good for her. She found herself running into a wall instead of at him. Before she could register what had happened, he was behind her, pushing her arm up her back. "Damn," she hissed in pain.

"Listen carefully," Itachi told her. "I will not hesitate to kill you if you cross me. We do not care about some puny girl who lacks hatred."

She mumbled, "I hate you. Does that count?" Her wrist was driven up her back even farther and she stifled a cry of pain.

"As I was saying. Do not underestimate the Akatsuki. We'll perform tests on you then be done in a month, hopefully. Then we'll kill you. By the time the next half-moon comes around, you won't be breathing," he said bluntly.

"Yeah. Ever heard of a sugar-coat? That's what that needs," Amaranth told him. "And I could escape beforehand, you know. With my strength and superior knowledge."

'Well, not superior, but a girl can dream...'

"You can only fight during the half moon. You're rather useless other than that time," Itachi replied, not letting his grip loosen just yet.

"How-"

"You would've escaped Konoha earlier." Itachi said it so smoothly, it was almost like he could read her mind. "You have no skills in the other areas. Especially taijutsu. You can't hurt a fly."

"Why don't you let me go and then I'll show you what I can hurt."

He released her but caught her fist as she threw a punch. "There's always going to be someone guarding you. Kisame will start." Amaranth blushed. 'Why in hell are all my captures so damn gorgeous?' she shrieked to herself, cursing her hormones.

. . .

"I WILL KILL YOU IN YOUR SLEEP!"

Kisame chuckled. He knew he was getting on Amaranth's nerves, bad. Her eyelid was twitching an amazing rate, which Kisame was only happy to point out. Not that the girl wasn't annoying herself. Her preferred nickname was 'Fishstick' or 'Sushi'.

"Alright, Amaranth," he sneered. She stuck her tongue out, feeling very ticked. 'She's a cute one,' Kisame mused to himself. 'Well, Tobi did say that "Ama-chan" was pretty...'

"May I call you Ama-chan?" he asked sweetly.

"..."

A smirk. "I guess I'll call you by your real name."

"Damn right you will."

. . .

That night, Amaranth lay awake in her cell, thinking about the boy in Konoha who was making her heart ache. She realized that she missed him. This was an emotion she hadn't felt since her brother...

She turned over and waved off any thought of Sai. She had to get away from the Akatsuki; they were cold-hearted criminals, not warm-blooded shinobi.

Unfortunately for her, that didn't make Itachi any less gorgeous.

. . .

Amaranth's quite the feisty one, isn't she?

Okay, I know NOTHING about Itachi. I'm not sure if he was OOC or what. x.x

So yeah... Feedback? ^^'

Favorite Ama-chan lines-

I WILL KILL YOU IN YOUR SLEEP!


	6. Oniisan

**Moonlight**

Chapter six

It's almost sad... How long it's been since I updated... x.x

~Oniisan~

For about the tenth time that day, Deidara carried Amaranth back over his shoulder. She glared at the back of his head as he grumbled at her.

Setting her roughly down, he snapped, "Stay here, un!"

"Yes, Sir, un!"

Black clashed with blue as they stared each other down. Amaranth had taken to annoying each of the Akatsuki members who 'babysat' her. Itachi didn't seem to care, even when she called him gay.

Kisame fought back, so that made her mad.

Deidara smoldered in his own fury, so that was amusing.

And she didn't see Tobi around much.

There were two others- Hidan, a loud one, always screaming about 'fucking Jashin' or whatever the hell that was. The other was Kakuzu, who was quieter and seemed to despise Hidan.

They didn't babysit her much either. Which she was grateful for, she was terrified of them. One of those things you never admit out loud, but everyone knows it.

As she waited for her next sitter to come in, she surveyed her surroundings. She'd tried to escape during Deidara's watch, to no avail.

Instead of Kisame, Itachi entered the room. His cold gaze met hers and she crossed her arms over her chest. "The hell do you want, Uchiha?"

"Simple. I want you to come with me. Your testing begins today."

Her eyes widened and she kicked back, away from him.

'Why? H-he can't know!'

Itachi simply took her wrist and dragged her away. She screamed and kicked and did everything she could, but it didn't work.

Now she felt like a stupid little kid. 'Dammit,' she thought.

Itachi tied her down, tying her wrists above her head and pinning them there. Then he net her eyes with his Sharingan and she collapsed.

. . .

Death, abuse, destruction.

That was his motto. His routine.

"Akihiko."

'Amaranth...'

The older boy didn't want to leave his sister behind. But he would kill her if he didn't.

Entering the room his master was in, he bowed. "Yes, Orochimaru-sama?"

"I want to know if you have any idea when the jutsu will be enabled."

"Not for another few years, Orochimaru-sama," Akihiko replied, pushing some of his green hair out of his eyes.

"Look up."

He slowly did so and saw a boy around Amaranth's age. Only his eyes were filled with strong hatred and no happiness or innocence, like his sister's.

Orochimaru walked forward.

"You will do it in the next month."

He swallowed, his throat tightening up because of how nervous he was. "I'll die-"

"I need her to be useful, or she's dead weight. And dead weight will not do, no no," Orochimaru replied, grabbing his chin. "Sweet boy and girl..."

The pale man threw him back. "You are dismissed. Go back to your pitiful life."

"Al-alright, Orochimaru-sama."

He slowly walked back to their shared room. Amaranth looked up and saw him. "Oniisan... What's wrong?"

"Nothing, Amaranth. Go back to sleep."

"O-Okay... Love you."

"Love you, too."

As the girl drifted back off to sleep, Akihiko curled up in the floor. 'I'm so sorry... I won't be able to save you for much longer.'

. . .

Amaranth woke up in darkness. Frowning, she looked around hazily. "You gave Itachi a run for his money," said a dark, deep voice.

"Uchiha Itachi?" she snorted despite herself. "Yeah, right. The bullcrap-o-meter is going through the roof."

"I suppose I over exaggerated. It was really me who butted him out of your mind."

"And you are?" she asked incredulously, straightening up.

"Oh, Imouto*," said the voice. "You don't recognize me."

With that, Akihiko appeared sound the corner.

. . .

*Imouto- little sister

I know, I know.

Short chapter.

I'm on the bus watching my friend struggle with her homework! :D


End file.
